Book support



July 15, 1958 I J. PARKER 2,843,439

' BOOK SUPPORT Filed Jan. 24, 1956 INVENTOR.

fa mes Par/fer A T TORNE Y5 United States Patent BOOK SUPPORT Iarnes Parker, GlenEllyn, 11]., assignor to Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, 111., a corporation of New York Application January 24, 1956, Serial No. 561,038

7 Claims. (Cl. 312-433) My invention relates to an improved support for books, in order to prevent structural deterioration of books due to their own weight.

This application is in part a continuation of my copending application Serial No. 484,226, filed January 26, 1955, now abandoned.

In the construction of fine books it is the usual practice to collect and bind a plurality of sheets to form what is known in the printing and binding trade as a signature and then secure a number of such signatures to a backstrip which is then bound in a cover of more rugged material, such as leather, artificial leather, etc. In the binding process the back or spine of the leaves is crowned before being attached to the cover, leaving the fore edges concavely curved. Such a binding is relatively loose as compared with less expensive bindings, permitting the leaves to retain their position automatically when the book is opened at any particular point. This type of construction is commonly employed in connection with dictionaries, encyclopedias and other large and heavy reference works.

An important disadvantage inherent in the book construction described above is that when such a book is supported on edge, i. e., with the titled backstrip positioned horizontally for convenient reading from above, as in a bookcase, the inherent looseness of the construction results in the sagging of the pages as a body relative to the covers by reason of the effect of gravity, inasmuch as the arcuate fore edges of the pages terminate a substantial distance inside of the edges of the cover and above the shelf on which the book is supported. As a where ultimately the book is likely to lose its shape and may even come apart.

Each time a book is opened the spine is forced into an opposite position from the normal shape into which it was put at the time of manufacture by a rounding and backing machine.

An object of my invention is to provide a support for books which will support not only the covers but also the body of leaves. In the preferred position (i. e., with the book spines horizontal), my invention will hold each book in such a position that the books own weight will cause an action upon them similar to that applied mechanically by a rounding and backing machine at the time of manufacture. Such support may be a separate elementwhich may be removably disposed on a book shelf or may be formed integrally with the shelf.

An important advantage inherent in my invention is that books are so held that their own weight on the arcuate supporting surface will cause a continued pressure similar to that applied mechanically by a rounding and backing machine in the manufacturing process.

In a preferred embodiment my invention also contemplates a bookcase or cabinet including a shelf or support as described above and having in combination therewith move these books by placing one or more fingers in engagement with an extremity of the backstrip and then pulling in a direction parallel with the width of the book. Under such circumstances, and as is well known, there is great likelihood of destroying the binding, especially in that portion of the 'backstrip to which the manual force is applied. This destruction of the binding by the aforementioned pulling force is quite common when books are stacked vertically. However, in accordance with my invention, books are stacked in a manner per: mitting ready identification and removal of any desired book while at the same time positively preventing abuse by the widthwise pull which has been described.

It is accordingly another object of my invention to provide in a bookcase or like storage container, in combination with a crowned shelf or support as described above, a transparent lid or cover disposed a relatively short distance over the books and arranged horizontally, coplanar with the backstrips. This transparent cover is spaced above the backstrips of the books a distance sufficient to permit insertion of the fingers a relatively short distance, to permit frictional contact with the backstrips of the books whereby it may he slid outwardly in a horizontal plane, but at a distance insufiicient to permit insertion of ones entire forearm, so that it is physically impossible to grasp the rear edge of the backstn'p and thus harm the binding, as described above.

Also, when books are stacked in conventional manner, there is a tendency to place these books so that the side covers thereof are tightly packed together. This accentu-- ates the problem of preserving the binding, since a pulling force sufiicient to overcome the frictional resistance may be very large and there is a correspondingly smaller opportunity to remove a desired book by any means other position while simultaneously permitting the books to be stably positioned. As a result, the side covers are not defaced, excessive forces need not be applied to remove a book and the books do not fall over when one or more of them are removed from the stack.

It is accordingly still another object of the invention" to provide in a bookcase or like storage container a construction in which means are provided to insure that the books stacked therein are loosely arranged with the side covers thereof unsupported so that removal of books from the stack can be accomplished by mere sliding, said sliding being resisted to such a small extent as to be capable of accomplishment by mere frictional contact between a persons fingers and the backstrip of the book. This is not to say that the books cannot be appropriately removed in other manners, as by grasping the exposed. extremity of the backstrip and pulling in a direction.

parallel .with thelengthaof the book (which does not dam g t di D bvinsertinn. ofofingers. between adjacent side covers (whichrmay be done if the books are very loosely stacked). To the contrary, the ability to remove a book by mere fingernpressure .onrtherbackstrip is characteristic of the invention 'andwisforeign to prior constructions.

My invention is best understoodby reference-.tozthe appended drawings forminga part of this specification andgillustr-ating a preferred embodimentof my invention, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of abooksupport embodying my invention positioned in a bookcase;

.Fig. 2 is a sectional-view taken substantially alongthe line 2.2 of Figl; a

Fig. 3 is a sectional-view of a bookcase taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,=:my;improved support being shown inplan;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view ofsaid support on an enlarged scale;

.Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar toFig."3, showing another embodiment of my invention; and

.Fig. 6 is a partial side elevation, in section, taken through a bookcase constructed in accordance with the invention and illustrating the utilization of an overlying member which is opaque or transparent.

According to my invention I provide a bookcase or container-B having a base or shelf Sand side walls W and which may be otherwise of any desired construction except as hereinafter described.

The base or shelf S is provided-at the upper portion thereof with a book support 10'which may beformed integrally with the shelf'S ormay be, formed separately of wood, metal, plastic or other suitablemater-ial. In the illustration of Fig. 3 Ihave shownthe support 10 as a separate element but it will be readily understood that numeral 10 may indicate the shelf itself.

The support 10 is provided with aplurality of upstanding arcuate ribs between which are spaces or grooves 18. The ribs 15 are of uniform heightand may'have arcuate top surfaces as seen best in Fig. 3. The grooves maylikewise be of uniform width as are preferably'the ribs 15. It will beunderstood thatthe ribs and grooves extend in parallel relation over the entire Width of the support 10, as seen best in Fig. 2, and entirelyfrom front to rear thereof.

Joining the side walls W, W is acover C formed of a relatively stiff transparent material, such as .glass or a suitable plastic, grooves or brackets being provided on the inside of walls W to seat said cover. As seen in Fig. 1,,cover C is positioned .a relatively short distance above the backstrips of the books 50 disposed on the support 10. As stated above, this distance is so adjusted that it will be substantially impossible for a normal adult person to extend his forearm within the space between the cover and the books a sufiicient distance to enable one to grasp the edge of the backstrip and hence it will be necessary, in withdrawing a book, to apply one or more fingers to the forward portion of a backstrip. and then slide the book forwardly in a horizontal direction. After the book has thus been moved a relatively short distance from its position in the stack the forward portion thereof may be readily grasped between ones fingers and removed from the case.

It will be seen from Fig. 2 that when books 50 are placed on the support 10 with their covers 52 resting within the grooves 18, the body of leaves 55 will be supported on the top surface of the ribs 15. Thus, the leaves will be prevented from sagging out of their normal posi- It will be understood that my invention in the form just described is especially applicable to books which are published in sets wherein the various volumes, are of substantially uniform thickness. In such cases the grooves .18 will be formed of a Width slightly greater than the thickness of the covers in order to receive them, as seen in Fig. 3, while the ribs 15 will be made of a width approximately equal to the thickness of the body of leaves 55.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a modified form of my invention wherein, instead of providing a unitary support for a plurality of books of substantially uniform size, I pro vide supports 10 which may be employed for books of varying thickness. In this case the support 10- has a groove 18 medially disposed between ribs 15. The latter may have a transverse curvature corresponding to one side of ribs 15. A plurality of said supports 10' may be arranged on a shelf, the space 60 therebetween depending upon the thickness of the book 50 resting thereon. Ordinarily the major portion of the leaves will be supported and the binding will not be affected by having a relatively small portion of the leaves unsupported.

In Fig. 6, the books are slid into the bookcase until they are stopped by the back wall 21. As will be immediately appreciated, it is the portion of the backstrip adjacent the back wall '21 which persons desire to grasp.

This is prevented by the cover 22 which is opaque. Since the cover 22 overlies only the top extremityof the backstrip, visual observation of the backstrip is not substantially impaired. Preferably, the portion'of the backstrip not overlain by the cover 22 is overlain by the transparent cover C which is slidably mounted ingrooves 20 formed in the'upstan'ding side walls W.

It is desired to state that the presence of an overlying member discourages the'lifting of the books'because it is immediately obvious that such lifting will not lead to the successful removal of the book. In accordance with the'invention, access to the topextremity of the backstrip is denied, for this is the extremity which is usually abused. The overlying member preventingaccess'to the top of the backstrip may be transparent or opaque, since this portion is not used for identification. Preferably,at least that portion of the overlying member covering the title is transparent and obviously this is the portion'overlying the major portion of the backstrip with the exception'of the extremities thereof. It is also preferable to cover the entire length of the backstrip, since this pro tects the books from dust and effectively precludes any attempt to employ a lifting operation in removing a selected book.

Various changes coming within the I spirit of my invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Hence I do not wish to be limited to the specific embodiments shown and described or 'uses mentioned, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of my invention being limited only by the appended claims.

1. Means for supporting a plurality of books stacked in substantial alignment and resting on their front edges, the backstrips of said books lying in horizontal plane so as to be readily visible from above, comprising a shelf having a plurality of spaced grooves for the sea'tingfof front edges of the covers of the books to be disposed on said shelf, and bosses disposed between said grooves and extending upwardly from the grooves with convex arcuate surfaces for the support of the front edges of the leaves of said books.

2. A bookcase comprising a book support as defined in claim 1, a pair of upstanding walls, and a stifi transparent cover overlying said support and carried by said walls, said cover permitting inspection from above of the backstrips of books disposed on said support and said cover being disposed at such a distance above such backstrips, when books are disposed on the support, as to per mit insertion of a persons fingers between said backstrips and said cover but said distance being insuflicient to permit convenient insertion of a persons forearm.

3. In a bookcase wherein the books are horizontally positioned upon a supporting shelf and adapted for sliding removal therefrom, in combination, a horizontal book-supporting shelf provided with a series of spaced substantially parallel upwardly extending convex leafsupporting bosses running the width of said shelf, and means for slidingly supporting only the front edges of the side covers of said books comprising grooves disposed between said bosses.

4. In a bookcase, the improvement which comprises a horizontal book-supporting shelf comprising means for stacking a plurality of books of crowned construction in substantial alignment and resting on their front edges with the backstrips of said books lying in a horizontal plane to facilitate identification thereof while permitting storage of said books on said shelf and removal of said books from said shelf without injury to the binding of said books, said stacking means having a plurality of spaced parallel upwardly extending arcuate leaf-supporting bosses running the width of said shelf, each of said bosses being spaced apart from the adjoining boss by a single groove adapted to receive the front edges of the covers of adjacent books, said grooves being slightly Wider than the combined thickness of two adjacent book covers, and said bosses being of a width approximately equal to the thickness of the entire body of the leaves of a book supported thereon.

5. A bookcase comprising a book support as defined in claim 4, a pair of upstanding walls, and a stiif transparent cover overlying said support and carried by said walls, said cover permitting inspection from above of the backstrips of books disposed on said support and said cover being disposed at such a distance above such backstrips, when books are disposed on the support, as to permit insertion of a persons fingers between said 6 backstrips and said cover but said distance being insufiicient to permit convenient insertion of a persons forearm.

6. A bookcase as recited in claim 5 in which said transparent cover is slidably mounted in grooves formed in said upstanding walls.

7. A bookcase comprising a horizontal book supporting shelf comprising means for stacking a plurality of books in side by side alignment and resting on their front edges with the backstrips of said books lying in a horizontal plane while permitting sliding removal of said books from said shelf without injury to the binding of said books, said stacking means having a plurality of spaced parallel upwardly extending bosses running the width of said shelf, each of said bosses being spaced apart by means adapted to loosely receive and support the front edges of the covers of said books while leaving the side covers of said books substantially unsupported, and a rigid transparent cover removably disposed over said books arranged on said shelf and normally preventing removal of said books from said shelf by lifting said books, said cover being disposed at such a height above the backstrips of said books as to permit ready insertion of a persons fingers between the cover and said backstrips for convenient removal of an individual volume.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 232,784 Undel'hill N Sept. 28, l880 1,504,446 Hall Aug. 12, 1924 1,562,275 Armstrong Nov. 17, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS 15,184 Great Britain 1910 480,505 Great Britain Feb. 23, 1938 

